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Thursday, August 13, 2009

Cold Spaghetti Salad

Here is another summer recipe for you to sink your taste buds into. Refreshing, colorful, slightly salty, and full of flavor, this salad would make a great addition to a summer picnic!

The original recipe comes from my aunt Martha. While I was visiting my mom this summer, she pulled the recipe out of the old family cookbook in hopes that I would make it. I took one look at it and thought...yum! Martha's recipe used wheat-based spaghetti noodles and green bell peppers. I used Tinkyada spaghetti noodles because they don't get mushy and fall apart during cooking. Be sure to cook them al dente for this salad. For some reason I am not a huge fan of green bell peppers so I omitted them for this recipe. If you would like to use them, her recipe says to chop them and saute lightly with the onions and garlic.

I use kalamata olives produced by the company Mediterranean Organics. I while back I wrote the company about the citric acid used in their products. Here in the USA citric acid can only be made from corn (through fermentation), but in other countries it can be made from either corn, wheat, molasses, or beets. About 25% of the citric acid used here in the USA is imported from other countries, meaning, unless you write the company to find out the source you may be getting minute amounts of gluten in your diet.

Here is the response I received from the company: The citric acid in the Mediterranean Organic Olives and Capers is produced by the fermentation of sucrose derived from cane and beet sources and purified to the highest standard. The Peppers is manufactured through a natural (microbial) fermentation process which converts corn syrup (a carbohydrate substrate) to citric acid using the microorganism Aspergillus niger . The corn syrup is GMO free. And yes, the products are also Gluten-free.

Happy Summer!

Cold Spaghetti Salad

Serve this delicious salad as part of a summer picnic or with a fresh green salad for an easy, light summer meal. Our Everyday Salad Dressing over fresh greens would compliment this spaghetti salad very well.

two-12 ounce packages Tinkyada spaghetti noodles

1 to 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

2 tablespoons minced garlic

4 medium tomatoes, chopped

1 cup chopped fresh parsley

1/2 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted

1 cup pitted kalamata olives

sea salt or Herbamare and freshly ground black pepper

6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

4 tablespoons red wine vinegar

Cook the noodles according to the packages directions, though cook them al dente. Rinse with cold water in a colander to stop cooking. Set aside.

Heat a skillet over medium heat. Add the 1 to 2 tablespoons of olive oil and chopped onions. Saute for about 10 minutes being careful not to brown too much. Keep the heat low enough to cook the onions until completely soft and flavorful (I add a few pinches of sea salt to the cooking onions to help with this). Then add the garlic and cook for a few minutes more. Watch the temp so the garlic doesn't burn. Remove from heat.

Add the cooked and cooled noddles to a large bowl. Then add in the cooked onions and garlic, and all of the remaining ingredients. Toss well. I use quite a bit of black pepper to season this. Add salt to taste.

Tip: To toast the pine nuts use a dry skillet and place over medium heat. Add the pine nuts and keep them moving in the pan for a few minutes until lightly browned. Watch them closely as they can burn easily!

About the Author

Alissa Segersten holds a Bachelor's of Science in Nutrition from Bastyr University. She is the founder of Whole Life Nutrition, the mother of five children, a whole foods cooking instructor, professional recipe developer, and cookbook author. She is passionate about helping others find a diet that will truly nourish them, and offers elimination diet recipes, healthy gluten-free recipes, paleo and vegan recipes, as well as tips for feeding your family a nourishing, whole foods diet. Alissa is the author of two very popular gluten-free, whole foods cookbooks and guidebooks: The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook and Nourishing Meals. She is also the co-author of The Elimination Diet book. Connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram!

Like I said on FB, this recipe looks terrific and I wanted some for a midnight snack last night ... but I wisely went to bed. LOL Maybe I'll make this for myself while Mr. GFE is gone this week. He wouldn't like a cold spaghetti salad, but I would love on and haven't had one in years. Yum! Oh, and you should enter it in Diane's Friday Foodie Fix today ... the secret ingredient is tomatoes. :-)

Re: the citric acid, if it was made from wheat and the product contained wheat, per the FALCPA, wheat would be shown in the ingredients. However, Gluten-Free Living magazine states that if wheat is contained in citric acid it is so highly processed that no wheat remains: http://www.glutenfreeliving.com/ingredient.php Per information from The Freedonia Group, over 90% of the citric acid in the U.S. is derived from corn. (This was in a Wiki article, a source I often question, but here's their source article here (a business article): http://www.allbusiness.com/marketing-advertising/price-management-price/6359335-1.html I've also read that when ingredients are derived from wheat, typically no wheat remains--for example, in glucose derived from wheat, it's also much like alcohol distilled from a grain source--no gluten remains. If there's info that wheat remains in a product and is not being shown on labels per FALCPA requirements, I want to know so I can pass it on to my support group members.

Wow it looks sooo good! I love the Tinkyada noodles also, and there are power save instructions on the package-it took me a while to find these so I love to share that, it just takes a few more minutes for lots less power.

Thanks for writing the company!!! I love when people get the good scoop :)

Heather - I love olives too! I bet your version of this salad is yummy!

Lauren - Great, glad you found us! Kristen's blog is great! :)

Melissa - Tinkyada noodles are the best, aren't they! Hope you try Herbamare, once you do, you'll be hooked! :)

Kimi - Thanks! :)

Shirley - I guess I didn't have all of the information regarding citric acid - thanks for clarifying!! Hope you get a chance to make this and enjoy it all yourself! I'll go to Diane's site now, thanks for reminding me! :)

I just finished making this recipe for a party we are about to head out to. I just had to have a bowl for myself before I share. It is very good! I also made the Zucchini bread from your cookbook and chocolate truffles, both are amazing! Your cookbook and blog have been a lifesaver for my family. We make your Teff pancakes a few times a week now. Thanks again! -Lara

I made this and it is excellent. I was out of fresh tomatoes and used canned diced and it turned out well, I didn't include the juice though. I think next time I may also add artichoke hearts. The noodles were perfect also.thanksDeb

This looks yummy, thanks! I am just wondering how you keep your rice noodles from getting chewy and hard after they cool. I make rice noodles all the time and they always seem to go from a nice texture to rather inedible if we don't eat them right away. (And totally hard if I put them in the fridge. Thus, I had thought a cold pasta salad was off limits until now...) Does this happen to you? Maybe I'm doing something wrong!

Lara - Thanks! I am glad you have found so much benefit here! This is a great time to make that zucchini bread. I have made it with all sorghum flour before with great results as well! Happy Summer! :)

Diane - Thanks, glad to share this recipe on your foodie fix! :)

Deb - Thanks for sharing your version of this, good to know canned tomatoes work as well! Artichoke hearts sound like a nice addition too.

Erin - Great questions, sometimes I forget to add all those little details. I cook my noodles with olive oil and stir them quite a bit right after adding them to the pot of boiling water - this helps them from sticking together. After they are cooked I rinse them with cold water. For this salad, I then tossed them in the olive oil dressing within about 15 minutes. They are usually still manageable at this point. To serve, either keep this at room temp or refrigerate until ready. If you let the salad sit out at room temp for about an hour after being in the fridge it works well. I think the key here is the olive oil dressing. Our leftover (plain) rice noodles stick together also when refrigerated. Hope this helps!

Dee - Great, thanks for the feedback and the fact that your kids enjoyed it! Enjoy the book! :)

Welcome to my blog!

Hi! My name is Alissa Segersten and I've had a love of healthy food and cooking since the age of 10. When I was pregnant with my first daughter in 2001, I diligently began writing down my recipes because so many people would ask for them! Some of these recipes appeared in my first book, The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook. I now have 5 children and am passionate about educating them about our food system so they can make the most informed choices as they grow up and are exposed to a world of processed, chemical-laden foods. Join me in my mission of helping to support families with nourishing meals!